FLU there is not a doubt that appraisals can be cooked in any direction, up or down. However, the process does have to be treated as an orthoganol event. The realtor has nothing to do with the appraiser nor does the buyer, he doesn’t hire him. In fact the new standards for appraisals for loans to be purchased by the GSEs are even more stringent. Furthermore if an appraisal comes in lower then a seller wants, there is absolutely nothing preventing the seller from hiring an appraisal and presenting it to the buyer for the buyer to give to the lender.
Furthermore for many loans now, especially FHA we are seeing secondary appraisal reviews come in. These reviews are essentially a second appraisal. I just completed a refinance of a property of my own that was non FHA and it went through a secondary review.
In fact, I would bet that if you polled the people who recently purchased a home here on Piggington I bet none or very few, even knew the appraisers name at all much less spoke to them. Finally in all of my sales, and I would bet most of the agents here, the appraiser actually contacts the LISTING AGENT to make the appointment to get into the home.
I am not saying the fraud cannot happen because we know it does.
